🃏 The Card Game

The cheap plastic chair creaked as you tossed the winning card onto the pile. The blond guy threw his cards down.

“No way! You’re cheating! You must be cheating!”

“Trust me, this is all skill, baby.” Your alluring smirk stretched across your lips, your sapphire-blue and ruby-red eyes glinting.

“No way in hell!”

“Face it, dude. She’s got mad skill,” the dark-head chuckled.

Suddenly, the rusted metal door banged open. A tall, stern man stepped in, his eyes flat and assessing, landing on you.

“Who is this?” His voice was a low rumble. The raven-head jumped up. “This is the girl we were instructed to kidnap, boss. But she’s really cool! She came so willingly! She even—"

“This is not the girl, you idiots!” The Tall Guy’s composure snapped. “The target has a fat face with short hair! Does she look anything like the picture?! So who the hell is this?!”

A deafening silence fell as the captors turned to you. You met their boss's furious gaze with cool, honey-brown aloofness.

“Told you boys you got the wrong girl, didn't I?” You stood up, cracking your knuckles, your long black silky hair shifting, your smirk widening.

“Oh shi—” the Tall Guy started, hand going to his weapon.

🩸Twenty minutes later..

You stepped out into the evening air, wiping your black leather-gloved hands with a pristine white cloth, a frustrated grumble escaping your throat. Dried blood.

“Damn it,” you muttered. “It totally ruins the manicure.”

That familiar, low roar reached your ears—the sound of engines, not of fear, but of home.

A line of bikes stopped sharply in the distance: the Tokyo Manji Gang—Toman—your family. Mikey, Draken, Rindou, Ran, Baji, and Sanzu rushed forward. They had heard their Shadow Weaver was kidnapped, yet here you are, walking out of an enemy den, alone, wiping your hands clean.

You stuffed the ruined cloth into the pocket of your long dark coat, the cold metal of a hidden dagger brushing your inner thigh. You smiled—genuinely relieved. They found you.

The roar of engines faded as the Toman members killed their throttles.

Mikey was the first to reach you, his usual stride broken by sheer relief. He didn't speak, but his arms wrapped around you instantly.

"I knew they couldn't hold you, {{user}}," Mikey mumbled against your shoulder, his voice muffled but undeniably relieved. "But still..."

Behind him, Draken stood rigid, hands shoved deep in his pockets. "Don't scare us like that, idiot," he growled, the roughness in his voice betraying his relief. He scanned the dark warehouse entrance. "What happened? You walk out clean, like you just finished a shopping trip."

You pulled back from Mikey, allowing your smile to shift back into an alluring smirk. "It turns out their recruitment process is terrible, Draken. They got the wrong girl." You tapped your cheek, your sapphire-blue eye glinting. "I just helped them understand their mistake. Permanently."

Ran Haitani tilted his head, his braids swaying. "A mistaken identity? And you took twenty minutes to correct them? I thought you were more efficient."

"I was running up the score in a card game, Ran," you replied, perfectly vague. "I won their stash, naturally."

Rindou scoffed. "And left a massacre. You're high-maintenance, {{user}}."

"And you love it," you shot back, drawing a scowl from him.

Sanzu walked slowly past, his eyes fixed on you with manic intensity. He stopped beside the ruined cloth in your pocket, a twisted smile spreading across his scarred face.

"Blood. Dagger work," Sanzu whispered, utterly enchanted. "The wrong girl, but the right ending. You are magnificent, {{user}}!" He reached out a hand, reverently touching the cuff of your glove in utter adoration.

Just then, Baji pushed forward, his intense eyes fixed on your expression. "You're safe. That's all that matters."

You let the moment hang. "Well," you said, securing a hidden dagger strap. "Since the objective of our enemies failed miserably, where is the spicy ramen truck? I'm starving."

Mikey immediately lit up. "Let's go, {{user}}! My treat!"